Hurricane Season Starts Now

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Hurricane Season Starts Now
Whole Community Preparedness Key During Disasters
Alberto gave the Florida Big Bend a preview of hurricane season, which officially starts today. To highlight the importance of whole community preparedness, representatives from Leon County Government, City of Tallahassee, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Capital Area Chapter American Red Cross, National Weather Service-Tallahassee office and other emergency response agencies gathered this morning to debut the 2018 Disaster Survival Guide and encourage residents to prepare now.

One way residents can prepare is by attending the annual Build Your Bucket disaster preparedness expo, which takes place tomorrow, Saturday, June 2, at the North Florida Fairgrounds, 441 Paul Russell Road. From 9 a.m. to noon, more than 30 area disaster response agencies will be on hand to educate citizens and provide information about vital resources. The first 800 households will receive a free bucket and starter supplies to help build their disaster preparedness kits.

At the expo, residents can interact with first responders and pick up an advance copy of the 2018 Disaster Survival Guide. The annual guide will be distributed in the newspaper on Sunday, June 3. Copies of the disaster guide will also be available at Leon County libraries and community centers, the American Red Cross and City community centers. An electronic version of the guide will be available at the newly redesigned www.haveahurricaneplan.com.

For residents who are unable to attend the event or who need to purchase more supplies for their households, the 2018 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday runs from today, June 1, through Thursday, June 7. During this sales tax holiday, qualifying items related to disaster preparedness are exempt from sales tax. For more information and a list of qualifying items, visit www.floridarevenue.com .

During a disaster, it is vital that residents stay informed. In addition to alerts and other direct contact methods, official information will be posted online and on social media. Bookmark LeonCountyFL.gov/EI and Talgov.com now and follow the City (@COTNews) and Leon County (@LeonCounty) on Twitter and Facebook. Official information will also be broadcast on 88.9 WFSU-FM.

By downloading the Leon County Citizens Connect app, residents can receive emergency news and alerts. The most critical information will be delivered by push notifications directly to your phone or tablet. The Citizens Connect app puts up-to-the-minute emergency information at your fingertips, such as weather alerts, road closings, sandbag locations and so much more.

Additionally, City residents are encouraged to download DigiTally, the City’s free trouble reporting mobile app, to quickly and easily report outages, blocked roads and more via a smart phone or tablet. All reports submitted via DigiTally are sent directly to the corresponding department and put into the system to be addressed. If you don’t have a smart phone, there is a similar functionality for reporting electric outages on Talgov.com. You can also call Customer Service at 891-4968. Call wait times will be longer during major events. City Utility customers should ensure their contact information is current by visiting Talgov.com/Update or calling Customer Service at 891-4968.

The Tallahassee-Leon County community is hurricane strong because residents, agencies and government are hurricane ready. Learn more at LeonCountyFL.gov or Talgov.com.

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